There was a Gentile (a person who is not a Jew) woman whose daughter was severely possessed by a demon. She was desperate for her daughter, and she knew that Jesus could heal her daughter. The obstacle that she had was that she was a Gentile, and Jesus was a Jew. During this time, Jews did not associate with the Gentiles because they did not worship the same God. The Jews considered the Gentiles spiritually unclean and often called them dogs. When the Gentile woman saw Jesus with his disciples, she started crying out to Jesus to have mercy on her and heal her daughter. However, Jesus did not answer her, but the woman kept on crying out to Jesus. The disciples tried to stop her and sent her away, but Jesus eventually turned around and answered her, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." The children referred to the Jews, the bread referred to the blessings (healing, provision, etc.), and dogs referred to the Gentiles. This is somewhat a harsh statement of Jesus to the Gentile woman, but Jesus was making a point. The woman answered, "Yes, Lord, even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table." Although the Gentile woman knew that she was unclean and not acceptable like the Jews, she could somehow get the blessings that were dropped under the table. Jesus was amazed by the Gentile woman's faith and told her, "Great is your faith." Jesus then healed her daughter immediately. The amazing thing about the Gentile woman was that she never gave up. She didn't allow her ethnicity or her spiritual condition to stop her from asking Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28).
We need to be like the Gentile woman who did not focus her attention on her shortcomings, but she focused her eyes on Jesus. Let us not use our weaknesses as an excuse for not accomplishing what we want in life. Like the Gentile woman, let us not easily give up when we face great obstacles in our lives, but let us focus our eyes on Jesus and ask Him to help us tackle our obstacles. Giving up is easy to do, but the consequences are very disappointing and sometimes devastating. Jesus is always with us and for us. Let us not give up easily and trust in Jesus.
Ask yourself these questions: Do I focus my attention on my weaknesses rather than on God? Do I easily give up when I face difficult situations? What should I do when I face a difficult situation and I am too weak to handle it?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you that you are always with me and for me. Please help me not to focus my attention on my weaknesses, but to trust you completely. Please help me not to give up easily, but to face my obstacles with my eyes focus on you. Please help me now with (mention your prayer requests). In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.